


Dyed Pure White

by ChiaRoseKuro



Series: A World of One's Own [22]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon Reinterpretation, Character Study, Drabble, Gen, Prompt Fic, Songfic, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 06:56:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19329418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChiaRoseKuro/pseuds/ChiaRoseKuro
Summary: Rin mourns Obito more than she would’ve ever thought possible, wants to stay by Kakashi’s side until the bone-deep grief in his eyes finally fades—but she’s a shinobi of Konoha first and foremost, and she knows where her duties lie.She doesn’t want to die. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone.But with every step they take towards Konoha...(it takes a special sort of courage to stand up to fate, but Rin's is of a different brand entirely)





	Dyed Pure White

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I deliberately chose not to tag everything - and yes, I will refuse to do so here as well, though what tags I've provided should be enough of a hint for those who vaguely remember canon. For those who can guess what will transpire, everything is implicit and will (hopefully) be less triggering that way... but for those who need an explicit warning, please head to the end notes. Or simply don't read if you think you'll react negatively to it. I wrote this to explore Rin's character in canon, and I won't apologize for what I wrote.
> 
> Special thanks to hitorie's _(W)here_ for providing mood music throughout the hour it took to write this, and the prompt 'Am I supposed to be scared now?' for determining both the theme and the tone of the drabble. I mean, I could've gone down the crack route... but angsty songs. And just angst in general, so.

* * *

 

When Kakashi comes for her, eye ablaze with fury and the faintest traces of panic, something twists within Rin. How many times had she wanted Kakashi to see her, be the one to rescue her if she was in danger and keep her crush alive? Because she knows, now, that he’d only ever wanted to keep Obito’s alive whenever he dismissed her.

It had always been Obito—her best friend, her unlikely hero—and now…

The seal pulses within her, patiently awaiting the trigger that will unleash disaster on her home. Rin hadn’t been awake for the process but, when she’d awoken with unfamiliar chakra and an extra presence in her mind, her captors had gloated in eerie, empty voices.

She couldn’t free herself from her new jinchuuriki status. She couldn’t tell anyone of anything they were talking about—not that the shinobi wanted Konoha razed to the ground, not that she was the human version of a suicide seal—but Rin hadn’t learned nothing as a shinobi. _Look underneath the underneath,_ a voice whispered in her mind, and she’d taken in what she could.

Their reddened eyes, their jerky motions— _Sharingan control,_ that same voice had whispered, and it had taken every bit of Rin’s willpower to keep her expression from shifting.

And now, with Kakashi urgently fleeing to Konoha with her in tow, pursued by the Kiri nin that weren’t Kiri nin at all…

With the seal pulsing in tandem with her heartbeat, with the Three-Tails slumbering deep inside her… Rin takes a deep breath, probes the seal for flaws she can take advantage of, and blurts out what little she can say.  
  


* * *

  
It doesn’t work.

Kakashi had always been a stickler for rules, uptight and individualistic and arrogant in a way that had made Obito bristle but had only served to intrigue Rin. It should’ve been easy to persuade him to kill her—she was compromised, the mission was doomed to failure, and casualties were all too common in this bitter, unending war. Had this been the Kakashi before they’d destroyed Kannabi Bridge, he mightn’t have even _needed_ persuading as soon as he’d realized she was a ticking time bomb.

But somehow, sometime during the past few weeks, Kakashi had embraced Obito’s ideals and taken his promises to heart with frightening fervour.

Instead of prioritizing the village over an individual, he’d chosen to prioritize an individual over the village. Lingering grief, perhaps, for failing to save Obito back then—but while Rin can sympathize, she can’t sympathize too much.

Because every step they take towards Konoha is another step towards the release of her seal. Every Kiri nin they take down is one less opportunity for her to save her village. Even if Rin wants to live for just a little longer, even if Kakashi promises a way to break the seal and free her from her fate…

What if there was no other choice? What if they could only choose between laying waste to Konoha or performing a mercy killing on her?

Rin mourns Obito more than she would’ve ever thought possible, wants to stay by Kakashi’s side until the bone-deep grief in his eyes finally fades—but she’s a shinobi of Konoha first and foremost, and she knows where her duties lie.

She doesn’t want to die. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone.

But with every step they take towards Konoha, with every unsettling pulse of the seal inside her…  
  


* * *

_  
You never broke your promise to Obito,_ Rin tests inside her mind. _I’m going to meet Obito first, so—make Minato-sensei proud for us, will you?_

All those words she can’t force out… all the regrets she’ll carry into the afterlife…

When Kakashi turns to a Kiri nin, hands flickering through signs honed by instinct throughout the war, Rin draws a careful breath and channels chakra to the soles of her feet.

 _I’m sorry,_ she thinks one last time, and tilts her face up to the weeping sky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last sound Rin hears is the chirp of a thousand birds.

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning: Major Character Death (Nohara Rin), Implied Character Death (Uchiha Obito, even if he didn't technically die at this point in canon), and Suicide Ideation (which is the entirety of this, beyond the last line).
> 
> For further author notes and other things related to this fic or series, feel free to check out my [blog](https://chiarosekuro.wordpress.com/). Alternately, potential prompts and other sorts of inspiration can be found on my [Tumblr](https://chroku-n.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/chroku_n/) if that tickles your fancy instead - or, if you'd like your own shiny new oneshot, you can request one from me [here](https://chiarosekuro.wordpress.com/commissions/).
> 
> //scurries for cover


End file.
